MCPInstall

gitlab-ci-validator

by akin-ozerDevOps & Cloud

Validate, lint, audit, or fix .gitlab-ci.yml pipelines, stages, and jobs.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills --skill gitlab-ci-validator
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads gitlab-ci-validator automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

GitLab CI/CD Validator

Comprehensive toolkit for validating, linting, testing, and securing .gitlab-ci.yml configurations.

Trigger Phrases

Use this skill when requests include intent like:

  • "Validate this .gitlab-ci.yml"
  • "Why is this GitLab pipeline failing?"
  • "Run a security review for our GitLab CI"
  • "Check pipeline best practices"
  • "Lint GitLab CI config before merge"

Setup And Prerequisites (Run First)

All commands below assume repository root as current working directory.

# Ensure validator scripts are executable
chmod +x devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/*.sh \
  devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/*.py

# Required runtime
python3 --version

Use one canonical command path for orchestration:

VALIDATOR="bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/validate_gitlab_ci.sh"

Optional local execution tooling (for --test-only):

bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/install_tools.sh

Quick Start Commands

# 1) Full validation (syntax + best practices + security)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml

# 2) Syntax and schema only (required first gate)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --syntax-only

# 3) Best-practices only (recommended)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --best-practices

# 4) Security only (required before merge)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --security-only

# 5) Optional local pipeline structure test (needs gitlab-ci-local + Docker)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --test-only

# 6) Strict mode (treat best-practice warnings as failure)
$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --strict

Deterministic Validation Workflow

Follow these gates in order:

  1. Run Quick Start command 2 (--syntax-only).
  2. If syntax fails, stop and fix errors before continuing.
  3. Run Quick Start command 3 (--best-practices) and apply relevant improvements.
  4. Run Quick Start command 4 (--security-only) and fix all critical/high findings before merge.
  5. Optionally run Quick Start command 5 (--test-only) for local execution checks.
  6. Run Quick Start command 6 (--strict) for final merge gate.

Required gates: syntax + security. Recommended gate: best practices. Optional gate: local execution test.

Rule Severity Rationale And Documentation Links

Severity Model

  • critical: Direct credential/secret exposure or high-confidence compromise path. Block merge.
  • high: Exploitable unsafe behavior or strong security regression. Fix before merge.
  • medium: Security hardening gap with realistic risk. Track and fix soon.
  • low/suggestion: Optimization or maintainability improvement.

Rule Classes And Why They Matter

  • Syntax rules (yaml-syntax, job-stage-undefined, dependencies-undefined-job): prevent pipeline parse and dependency failures.
  • Best-practice rules (cache-missing, artifact-no-expiration, dag-optimization): reduce runtime cost and improve pipeline throughput.
  • Security rules (hardcoded-password, curl-pipe-bash, include-remote-unverified): reduce credential leaks and supply-chain risk.

References

Fallbacks For Tool Or Environment Constraints

  • Missing python3:
    • Behavior: validator cannot run.
    • Fallback: install Python 3 and rerun.
  • Missing PyYAML:
    • Behavior: python_wrapper.sh auto-creates .venv and installs pyyaml when possible.
    • Fallback in restricted/offline environments: pre-install pyyaml from an internal mirror, then rerun.
  • Missing gitlab-ci-local, node, or docker:
    • Behavior: --test-only reports warning/failure.
    • Fallback: skip local execution testing and continue with syntax/best-practice/security gates.
  • No execute permission on scripts:
    • Behavior: shell permission errors.
    • Fallback: rerun the setup chmod command from the Setup section.

Examples

Example 1: New Pipeline Validation

$VALIDATOR examples/basic-pipeline.gitlab-ci.yml --syntax-only
$VALIDATOR examples/basic-pipeline.gitlab-ci.yml --security-only

Example 2: Pre-Merge Hard Gate

$VALIDATOR .gitlab-ci.yml --strict

Example 3: CI Integration

stages:
  - validate

validate_gitlab_ci:
  stage: validate
  script:
    - chmod +x devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/*.sh devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/*.py
    - bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/validate_gitlab_ci.sh .gitlab-ci.yml --strict

Individual Validators (Advanced)

# Syntax validator (via wrapper for PyYAML fallback)
bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/python_wrapper.sh \
  devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/validate_syntax.py .gitlab-ci.yml

# Best-practices validator
bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/python_wrapper.sh \
  devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/check_best_practices.py .gitlab-ci.yml

# Security validator
bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/python_wrapper.sh \
  devops-skills-plugin/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/scripts/check_security.py .gitlab-ci.yml

Done Criteria

  • Frontmatter name and description unchanged.
  • One canonical orchestrator path is used consistently.
  • Setup and chmod prerequisites appear before workflow/use examples.
  • Quick-start and workflow are non-duplicative (workflow references quick-start gates).
  • Severity rationale and rule-to-doc references are explicit.
  • Fallback behavior is documented for missing tools and constrained environments.
  • Examples are executable from repository root.

Notes

  • This skill validates configuration and static patterns; it does not execute production pipelines.
  • Use gitlab-ci-local or GitLab CI Lint for runtime behavior confirmation.

FAQ

What does the gitlab-ci-validator skill do?

Validate, lint, audit, or fix .gitlab-ci.yml pipelines, stages, and jobs.

How do I install gitlab-ci-validator?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills --skill gitlab-ci-validator in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/ (personal) or .claude/skills/gitlab-ci-validator/ (project).

Which AI agents can use gitlab-ci-validator?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is gitlab-ci-validator safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains gitlab-ci-validator?

It is published by akin-ozer in akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills. It has 683 recorded installs.

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